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Starting next week we will be starting two new Community based Video Compilation Series.
That we will Feature every week on CGN.US and our Youtube Channel.

1) Game Fails
2) Game Greats

These Series will consist of short Gaming Fails and Gaming Great Video Clips. Normally ranging from 10 to 15 Seconds that showcase your best Gaming Fails and or Gaming Greats Moments.
And after receiving enough Clips we will create a Compilation of the best "Gaming Fails" and "Gaming Greats" to Upload to CGN and our Youtube Channel.
So if you have any Clips you would like to submit for these CGN Video Series. Simply click the link below and start submitting!!
https://cgn.us/videos/category/46-submissions/

We will be reviewing and approving all submissions, and if you are approved.
Your Clips will be showcased in our weekly series! Hope you all enjoy, and if you have any questions.
Feel free to comment below.

CGN is making waves in the Gaming Community!
And to make things better, we are offering more PERKS to our Premium Subscribing Members!

As you all are aware Premium Membership on CGN Currently Offers.

- Double CGN Points on all Post, Likes, Videos, and Topics
- Free CGN Points to spend in the Store
- Early Access into BETA Programs and Software

Well as of today we are adding New PERKS to the Premium Membership!
- 10% off all Purchases on the CGN Website (Currently 15% for the Summer Sale)
- Higher Commission on Referral Purchases via our Affiliate Program (8%)
- Access to our Premium Only Discord

These PERKS are available right now, and we have sent messages out to all Current PREMIUM Members.
So if you are interested in becoming a Premium Member on CGN, simply click the link below!
https://cgn.us/premium

Hope you all enjoy, and if you have any questions feel free to comment below!

Over the past few months we have worked tirelessly in order to Update CGN into what you see today.
And because of all this work and dedication we are now able to offer the Members a larger piece of the action!
So we have released CGN Partnership and it comes with a plethora of Perks and Benefits!

1) Higher Commission on Sales
Now that you are Partnered you earn double what the other Users Earn!

2) Discount Code
Every Partnered Member on CGN can receive a Discount Code per Request!
This code works on all Purchases and takes a total of either 3% to 5% off!

3) Verified Tick Mark
Get a dedicated Verified Tick Mark beside your name that lets everyone on CGN.US know you are a Partner!

4) Partner only Discord
A Custom Discord Created only for CGN.US Partners
This is where you all can congregate together, share content, see the latest deals from the website and much much more!

5) Access to Free Indie Games
Now that you are a Partner we will offer you Free Early Access to Indie Games!
These game will be given to you either in the form of promotional purposes, to giveaway, or to keep for yourself!

6) Custom Panel for your Streams or Website!

On request, you will receive a Custom Panel for your Channel!
Not only does it look cool, but it shows you are an Official Partner of CGN!

So are you interested in being a Partner? If so, simply Apply via the Link below!
https://cgn.us/settings/verification/

Once you are Approved, you will be sent a Private Message and Email with instruction on how to get started!
And sent links to all the Private Channels and Discord! Hope you enjoy, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

As many of you all who voted last week are aware.
Gamer of the Week Voting (36) has ended, and the winner was @DePemy

However, during the voting, @DePemy contacted me explaining how he would be absent this week.
And asked if I would place him in for the week after. I thought about it for awhile, and came to the decision that this was do-able, but I would have to remove the voting for next week.
So instead of granting @DePemy the Gamer of the Week Position. I instead granted it to Gamer of the Week Runner-Up @Cupofrobots

Before doing so, I emailed and Private Messaged both @Cupofrobots and @DePemy
To let them know what is going on, and how this situation will be handled.
Then I placed @Cupofrobots as the Winner of Gamer of the Week, for Week 36.
And I have @DePemy set for Gamer of the Week winner of Week 37, and we have no voting for this week.

Then I scheduled the Tweet and the CGN Post.
"Congrats to our Gamer of the Week @Cupofrobots"
After being viewed. This led to a fiery backlash by the community.
Which makes perfect sense, because I was not able to inform you of my decisions in a timely fashion.
Leading many to believe that I had chosen the winner out of pure favoritism. Which I can assure you, is not the case.

I apologize for my actions, and I will do my best in the future to better inform the community of any and all decisions being made before they happen.
I hope you all can forgive me, and I promise to do my best to amend for any damages I have caused between communities.

Are you tired of having to buy your Video Games through Paypal?
Wish there was another way? Well then you are in Luck!!

Because CGN is now accepting Credit and Debit Card Payments directly!
Thanks to our good friends over at STRIPE!

STRIPE is a new standard in online payments. Allowing you to simply type in your Credit or Debit Card information, and Save it without ever having to create an Account.
The process allows for things to be a lot more streamlined and makes it easier for users without Paypal accounts to buy from our platform.
Which is great timing, because we are in the middle of our CGN Summer Sale and Games are up to 80% off right now!!

So feel free to use the new option when purchasing from our Store!
And if you have any questions about the new Payment Gateway, feel free to comment below!

Today I am happy to announce the release of CGN 4.0 BETA!
These Layout changes come after a long time of upgrading Features on the CGN Website
And with the latest release of our Gaming Store, I found it only right that we had a new Theme to go with it!\

While in development I wanted to make sure that I met tackled all the suggestions brought to me by members recently and the past.
So the Theme has been designed with a Sidebar Layout in an attempt to push the content you all care most about to the top of the website.
And removing the horizontal Menu we had before. Which not only allows more room, but also allows for a much easier way of navigating the interior of the website.

I do want to remind you all though that this new Layout is currently in BETA and some changes will be coming to it within the next few days.
So if you happen to see any bugs, or have any suggestions, feel free to post them below and I will do my best to integrate them

Today was a big step for Beam.pro, the platform many from our Platform have come to love! Because they have now changed their name and re-branded as Mixer.com!

The announcement came today via Multiple Partnered Streamers and post to their Social Media Pages! Why the change in name you may ask? Well according to Co-founder Matt Salsamendi
"This was a tough decision, and not one that we made lightly. But, it was something that we decided on as a team. We believe so much in the power of the platform and want to grow it in every major market around the world. Unfortunately, that wasn’t something we could do with the Beam name. We chose Mixer as our new name because it represents what we love most about the service….how it brings people together."

Apart from the Name change and Re-branding, Mixer is coming with a plethora of New Features!
Crowd playing, using their Interactive Software, Co-Streaming, Mixer Create, A Brand new Studio, and much much more!
And to kick all this off Mixer is having a full day of Live Streaming fun to Celebrate the Launch of the new website!

Also, I have been working furiously to change all the old Beam.pro Logo's and Streams to reflect the New platform
So all Previous Beam.pro Streamers can be rest assured that their Stream is still connected to their CGN Profile and all links have been updated.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a response below, and if you would like to know more about Mixer click the link below!

Smashcast is a new Streaming Platform powered by Hitbox and Azubu Staff Members, and according to their Blog Post.
"Smashcast offers a delay-free streaming experience with resolutions up to 4K at 60fps on a newly designed, HTML5-based platform."
But that's not all. The staff have also created a bunch of New Features. Some Aimed Entirely at the Esports Community.

HYPE - O - METER
One being, that you can see in the Image above, is the Hype-O-Meter.
Essentially a Bar that allows members to Spam Emoji's that will jump across the screen while you are watching your Favorite Teams compete.
Allowing for a bit of competition, as each emote will be counted into the Hype-o-Meter and will continuously shift the bar according to which fans cheer the most.

FEED
Allows Streamers to post and keep their viewers updates on their content.
And in turn allows viewers to look up any news, previously hosted polls, uploaded VODs, esport results and more

4K VIDEO
SmashCast has a new Production Studio that will allow users to Stream to 4K Video on their Platform.
In their post they say it will allow them to actively provide you the highest quality esports content, produced live in Vienna.

WILL CGN BE SUPPORTING SMASHCAST.TV
YES! We will be supporting this platform the same as we did Hitbox and Azubu before.
At this time Smashcast.tv Streams cannot be connected to your CGN Profiles, but within the next week or two
We should have all the Authorization and Connectivity between your Smashcast Streaming Profiles and your CGN.US Profiles.

So what do you all think of Smashcast.TV? Will you be trying it out?
Be sure to leave us some comments or questions below!!

Hello Everyone. I volunteered to write this article because after almost five years of streaming, and a little dabbling in YouTube, I feel that I have a pretty good story to tell on what I think people need to know before jumping in. I would like to preface this by saying this is purely my thoughts and opinions, not everyone will agree, and I am not claiming this is the only route to success. Hope you enjoy the read!

Plan Your Channel
First and foremost, after watching others get started and reflecting back on my experience, I feel that planning out your channel should be priority numero uno. Are you going to cater to a much wider audience by being a PG content creator? Or are you going to provide a niche corner where anything and everything goes? Will you replace swear words for their less harmful counterparts? Are you doing this strictly for the money or for interacting with people?
These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself before getting started. There is nothing more detrimental to your channel than constantly reworking it to be happy. This is not to say you should never work on evolving your channel, but spending a year doing something and you not thinking that its working and going back to the drawing board is a monumental waste of time, talent, and effort. Which brings me to my next point…

Do What Makes YOU Happy
Everyone who starts being a content creator has a dream of being the next big thing. That is all fine and dandy, but it takes time and lots of hard work to get there. If you don’t do what makes you happy, things will start to get to you, no matter how small. It could be that people are constantly asking/telling you what to play next or what you need to do better. Ultimately, it is your channel and at the end of the day, if you are not happy and enjoying what you do, your viewers will be able to tell. Not only that, but it will take a toll on you in real life.
How many stories have you heard about a big time content creator who was under such stress to put out high quality content that they were left broken and unable to even look at a computer? I know personally that I have seen it with acquaintances and friends many times. They lose the passion for what started as something they looked forward to doing every day (or multiple times a day). I have seen people lose their jobs, money, marriages, and children because the stress got to them. On a much more personal note, I have let small things get inside my brain that has caused me to stop streaming before for months on end. Even now, some days I question whether or not I should fire up my stream because something is bugging me. But at the end of the day, I LOVE playing video games and interacting with my viewers, who truly do make me feel better on bad days, and make me laugh until I have a headache.
So it bears repeating….Do what you want to do and what makes you happy.

Engage Your Community
One mistake I see repeated far too often with new content creators is the lack of interaction with their viewers. This is more towards streamers, but is just as much helpful to YouTube/Video sharing sites. Dead air is a major killer for channels and I still fall victim to this. There are times when you are just so engrossed in a game, I get that, but don’t let thirty minutes go by without a single word. If someone pops in saying “Hi,” reply to them, make them feel welcomed, and most importantly, try to connect with them to show that you actually care about them taking the time to check you out. If you get raided, thank to raider, shout them out, get excited about it! It’s frustrating trying to talk to someone who doesn’t pay attention to chat at all or clearly is more interested in what their friend on their phone is saying than you as a viewer. I tend to watch/raid smaller streams to both help them out and find the gems, but a lot of people take it for granted. A raider is picking your channel for a reason, even if it is with one other person. That is at the very least one other viewer that has popped into your channel, and as we all know, more viewers means you are higher on the list, which turns into more people coming to check you out.
Do it for me. Do it for yourself. Most importantly, do it for each and every person who comes into your channel, even if its your best friend who has been there since day one. Treat your viewers like family and you will be greatly rewarded.

It Takes Time
For every content creator who skyrockets to popularity, there are hundreds of those who are seemingly stuck in a loop of not having enough viewers, subscribers, or followers. These things take time, especially on the bigger sites like Twitch and YouTube. There are millions of other people trying to grab viewers’ attention and you might go months without much growth. This is normal. Let me repeat that. THIS IS NORMAL. Just because John Doe got 10,000 followers/subs in a month and is super successful, doesn’t diminish what you are doing one bit. Sure, you are going to reflect on your content and wonder what you are doing wrong, how you can change, how to be like them. But this might be the next most important thing (to me) in being a content creator: Do Not “Sell-Out” To Be Successful.
What does that mean? It can be different for each person, but to me it means that you need to stay true to yourself, to what you set out to do. It refers back to the first two points in this article. Everyone’s path to success is different. Yes, there are going to be cookie cutter content creators and it will seem like you have to join that flock more often than not. However, there are lots of people out there who break the norm, who don’t need to do something crazy every two minutes to keep their viewers’ short attention span with them. Do you need a webcam? No. It might help viewers connect with you easier, but you don’t need one. Do you need to have a disco ball come down, music blaring, cowbells ringing, bad singing, and anything else that screams “PAY ATTENTION TO ME?” Absolutely not. Despite what lots of other people say, this is not needed and quite often, not wanted.
Finding success, however you measure it, will take time but don’t panic if it doesn’t come as quickly as you hoped or wished. Stay the course, you will get there.

Be Yourself
I have alluded to this in the previous points, but it deserves its own section, mostly because there are far too many content creators out there that are “fake.” I have seen this up close and personal far too many times and it has sometimes broken my faith in others. Some sites have been operating for years and seem to have become stale. This has made some think that they have to try to act a certain way to get anywhere. This encompasses acting like other people or bringing something new/fresh to the table. Granted, this does work for some, so there is obviously something to be said for it, but personally, its abhorrent and makes me sick. Maybe its because I have been burnt by numerous people who I helped from day one climb the ladder to be successful, but showing people who you really are will get you something every content creator yearns for. Loyalty.
Being yourself will also help stave off the Drama Llama that seems to creep up everywhere on the internet. Whether its between you and your viewers, you and other content creators, or just between two people you don’t know and you somehow get dragged into it. It can and will destroy some people and possibly your whole community. It sucks and its infuriating. You will have to make some concessions, like that annoying viewer who hasn’t done anything against the rules, but drives you and others batty to the point that you just want to ban them. But then there are the trolls and I feel they come in many different forms. You have the ones who hop from channel to channel testing to see how quickly they can get banned. Then there are the ones who will troll but not outright say anything ban worthy. And then there are the ones who play the long game, and might be the most destructive of them all. The ones who wiggle their way deep into your community and your trust circle, waiting for the right time to strike and destroy everything you worked hard to build.

Develop a Thick Skin
To have any semblance of success being a content creator, you have to learn to ignore some people. Whether it be their comments on videos or chat, their voices in discord/TeamSpeak, or their game play if you play games with them. Not everyone is going to align with your way of thinking/acting/playing. You can’t let these things get to you or worry over something a keyboard warrior taking refuge behind a random screen name says to/about you. Too many times I have seen people break down on stream or in private messages. At that point, they win, they got to you, got under your skin, even if they don’t actually see it happen. Personally, I don’t even bring attention to the comments unless others do. I trust my mods to delete the worst of the comments. If someone keeps it up or multiple people target me, I just agree with them and laugh it off. I have found that this shows them that their crap isn’t going to work here and they leave of their own accord. Comment sections and chat is like an aphrodisiac to these people and they flock to them in droves. I beg of you, do not let these get to you in any way. I understand there are those out there that can make your life a living hell, but from what I have seen, they target mostly those people who acknowledge them.

Don’t Be Afraid of Change
Lastly I would like address this topic, which might seem to contradict my previous statements. Sometimes change is inevitable, whether its drastic or subtle. Maybe your friends/community offer up some suggestions and you want to implement them. This is not a bad thing as long as its what you want to do as well. Perhaps you see a new platform for you to share your content on but you have put a lot of time into a different one. I went from streaming on Twitch for almost four years and the day I learned about Beam.pro, I switched immediately. It gave me what I wanted. I just recently re-branded my channel on there to include my wife who now streams her game play on the channel with me. This is the growing process of content creation. Just don’t let change get in the way of what you are wanting to do. Don’t go to drastic measures every time you feel growth has slowed or become stagnant. Your viewers will keep coming back because they know what to expect. If you do plan to make some changes, try to give your community as much notice as possible so they aren’t caught off guard and make assumptions.
This also extends to those you might deem close to you in your community. Do you have a gaming group the has started to become non-existent? Maybe its time to find a new group or invite new people to fill in the gap left by others. Is a mod on your channel becoming a problem or doesn’t show up anymore? Talk to them about it and perhaps they need to be removed as a mod. You will not prevent everyone’s feelings from being hurt, but if you know in your heart that you did everything to make it the best situation possible, then there is nothing more you can do. Again, let your community know when stuff like this happens. Just don’t go into more detail than they need to know. That’s just inviting the Drama Llama.

I have shared what I feel are the most important things you need to know getting started as a content creator. There are many many smaller things that I couldn’t cover or just couldn’t think of at this time. It is not an easy road, being successful in this business. Sweat, tears, and sometimes blood must be sacrificed to make a name for yourself, but if you enjoy it, if you love what you do and show it to your audience, then it is only a matter of time.

Today, I am glad to announce the first post about the Video Game Store being released here on CGN.
Many of you Members may have already been aware of this, but within the next few weeks we will begin selling Video Games.
And not only is this a big announcement for the website, but also a large opportunity for all our Members!

Over the past few months I have slowly been developing this (Games) Program.
Which gives you members the ability to quickly browse the website via your Favorite Games and Purchase them if you want.

And not only have we made the Listing of Products Easy, but we have added Discovery Tools to every Product Page!
Think a Game looks good, but would prefer to see it in Action first? Find some Gamer's who are Playing it Currently? Or maybe you want to read the Reviews?
All can be done directly from the Product Page without ever having the leave the Website!!

BUT WAIT IT GETS BETTER!!!
Not only are we allowing you all to Purchase Games, but we are also going to allow you all to EARN MONEY!
Simply by taking part in our Referral/Affiliate Program (Click Here to Learn More)
So, wait are you all waiting for? Go out and start Referring New Members to CGN before we start selling Games within the next few weeks!!

As you can tell we are super excited to release this Program and I really hope it allows our Users to better Connect with one another like never before!
If you have any questions about the latest release feel free to @ in a Status Update or Send me a Message